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Gulf Coast area kindergarteners will start the 2023-24 school year off with needed school supplies thanks to Keesler Federal Credit Union.
The not-for-profit financial cooperative once again is sponsoring Backpacks for Bright Futures, donating backpacks and needed school supplies to kindergarten students. The credit union distributed backpacks and supplies today to 16 area school districts across six counties.
Keesler Federal began the program in 2019 and now five years later it has provided backpacks and supplies to more than 50,000 public school kindergarteners (including this year’s distribution).
School Districts receiving supplies include: Bay St. Louis-Waveland, Biloxi, George County, Gulfport, Hancock County, Harrison County, Jackson County, Long Beach, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula-Gautier, Pass Christian, Pearl River County, Picayune, Poplarville, and Stone County. Each district will determine when to distribute supplies to students.
Keesler Federal team members helped load thousands of boxes into vehicles. The supplies include a clear plastic backpack filled with blunt scissors, markers, crayons, tissues, construction paper, pencils, pocket folders, highlighters, glue sticks, and erasers.
“Purchasing school supplies can be a burden on family budgets,” said Andy Swoger, Keesler Federal President and CEO. “We are hopeful that this effort will benefit families as well as helping kindergarteners get off to a successful start in school.
“We have heard from educators and parents over the last four years about the difference this program makes, and that makes it worthwhile to us. Keesler Federal strongly believes in supporting the communities we serve, and Backpacks for Bright Futures certainly is one of our most important giveback programs.”
The program has been so successful that Keesler Federal last year expanded Backpacks for Bright Futures into other markets. Those areas include Jackson (Jackson Public Schools, Canton, Clinton, Hinds County and Pearl), Hattiesburg (Hattiesburg, Petal, Forrest County and Lamar County), and Jefferson Parish Schools in Louisiana.
The expansion more than doubled Keesler Federal’s Backpacks for Bright Futures program, with supplies now distributed throughout 25 school districts.
About Keesler Federal
Established in 1947 in Biloxi, Keesler Federal is the largest credit union headquartered in Mississippi, with more than 380,000 members and $5 billion in assets. Named by Newsweek in 2025 as one of the best credit unions in America for the third consecutive year, the not-for-profit cooperative more than 50 branches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the UK. Keesler Federal membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school within its service areas. For more information, visit KFCU.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.
Contact:
T. Bradley Keith, Director of Public Relations & Communications
TBradley.Keith@kfcu.org (228) 701-1347 – direct; (225) 364-5804 – cell
